Ethiopian avocado farmer’s ‘transformational’ crop

Ethiopian avocado farmer’s ‘transformational’ crop

ROME — An Ethiopian farmer has been talking about how avocados have transformed the lives of not just his family but also of people living in his community. Bogale Borena set up an avocado nursery in Yirgalem in the south of Ethiopia, and has been so successful with the venture that he was named as one of 17 Food Heroes by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Agency. Food Heroes are recognized for their commitment to provide food for their communities and beyond. He spoke to the UN ahead of World Food Day, marked annually on 16 October. “My name is Bogale Borena and I am a 50 year old father of six. I recently set up an avocado nursery with the capacity to produce 40,000 grafted seedlings, which I can sell to some of the 300,000 avocado farmers who cultivate the crop in the Sidama and SNNPR regions of Ethiopia. I now employ 14 young people in the nursery. I was motivated to grow avocados when a new avocado oil processing plant was established within the Integrated Agro Industries Park (IAIP) near my village. The park employs 490 local people and is the first park of its kind in my